No images? Click here 27 July, 2021 Regular subscribers might notice that this newsletter is slightly different. That's because today we're introducing The Outlier, our brand new data publication. We've been working for a while on the idea of creating a publication that specialises in analysing and visualising data and we're happy to finally have something to show for it. But don't worry, just because we've launched The Outlier doesn't mean we're dropping our Coronavirus dashboard. We're still working on that, The Outlier just means we have more for you to read. And we'll still be working on Coronavirus stories (see below for an example). If it's just the latest Coronavirus data you want then you can always find it here: To those that have been subscribers to this newsletter for a while, we hope you'll enjoy this change. And to those that subscribed recently, welcome. If you don't want to continue to receive this newsletter you can unsubscribe by clicking the button below. We hope you won't, but we understand if you do. Now, let's dive in ... How is South Africa doing with vaccinations?Last week, managing partner Laura Grant dug into the numbers of how many days it took South Africa to start administering millions of vaccines. The vaccination roll-out got off to a slow start but since the end of May the pace has been picking up. On 22 July we passed the 6-million mark. In fact, it took only 22 days to administer the last 3 million vaccines. We've made an interactive map of all the vaccination sites listed by the national and provincial health departments up to now to make it easier for people to look up the sites closest to them. We produced the map for the Africa Data Hub and we have posted it on the website of our partner Bhekisisa. You can find it here. Unrest in SA: Joblessness and rising prices make a volatile mixtureThe unprecedented violence and looting between 10 and 16 July following the arrest of former President Jacob Zuma for contempt of court have focused attention, once again, on joblessness and the rising cost of necessities like food.The Outlier Africa team explored data from Stats SA on the number of people between the ages of 20 and 34 without work. Officially 27% of people in this group are unemployed but as many as 68% are without a job when all categories of employment/unemployment are included. The cost of a household food basket vs minimum wageWe also looked at data from the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group which shows that a family of seven living off one employed family member earning the minimum wage cannot afford to buy a full basket of essential grocery items. More students need to do maths and science if SA wants to be part of the fourth industrial revolutionSince 2019 when President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed the Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, there has been an emphasis on taking South Africa into the age of artificial intelligence, but how possible is that when fewer than half of South Africa’s matrics write maths and science? Gemma Gattichi tackles the question here, where she speaks to education experts about what is happening with maths and sciences. She also chats to a school principal who only offered maths literacy and stopped offering maths to learners. Do you know someone who may be interested in this newsletter? Have your say 📢If you've read this far, thank you, and please let us know what you think. Send comments, suggestions, criticisms to data@mediahack.co.za This newsletter produced by: |